Where should a little owl nest box be placed?
The owl box should be erected horizontally, a minimum of 3 metres (10′) above the ground on a wall top, beam or tree branch so that owlets can walk in and out prior to fledging. Little Owls seem to prefer nestboxes placed in open-sided or open fronted buildings rather than enclosed types.
Which owls nest in boxes?
Barn owls are cavity-nesting birds of prey but they do not create their own nest holes. Instead, they frequently use hollow trees or cavities from other birds, and they readily move into open buildings or nest boxes.
Can you put an owl box on your house?
Mounting an owl box on the outside of a building has many disadvantages and is not recommended unless there is no alternative. Buildings that are in human or agricultural use can be very suitable; Barn Owls can get used to almost any kind of activity as long as they can stay out of sight.
Do little owls mate for life?
Little Owls are monogamous, which means pairs remain together for at least one breeding season, and usually until one of the pair dies.
What do you do if you see a Little Owl?
Dealing with injured or orphaned owls
- Gently throw a jumper or blanket over the injured bird to keep it warm.
- Put the bird into a well ventilated, darkened cardboard box – not so small that the bird will sustain further damage, but not so large that it can jump around inside.
- Do not try to feed the bird.
What eats a Little Owl?
Predators of the Little Owl tend to be larger birds, such as other owls, falcons, buzzards, eagles, and kites. Small mammals, like genets or foxes, are also predators of this species. They call in response to predators, allowing other Little Owls to hide when the call is heard.
How tall should a little owl nest box be?
The box should be erected horizontally a minimum of 3 metres (10′) above the ground on a wall top, beam or tree branch so that owlets can walk in and out prior to fledging. Little Owls seem to prefer nestboxes placed in open-sided or open fronted buildings rather than enclosed types.
Why are there so many little owl boxes?
It may simply be that in some areas there are sufficient natural sites for the birds and in others a shortage of sites inhibits the population so the provision of owl boxes creates an opportunity for expansion. A wide variety of nestbox designs have been used by Little Owls.
What should I put in my Little Owl’s nest?
The nest chamber is covered in a layer of mini bark chips, as the owls don’t generally nest on bare wood. Some reference books suggest that Little Owls incubate from the first egg. My colleague who monitors the owls with me, Alan Ball, and I find that this is rarely true.
Who was the first to describe the Little Owl?
The little owl was formally described in 1769 by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli under the binomial name Strix noctua. The little owl is now placed in the genus Athene that was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822. The owl was designated as the type species of the genus by the George Robert Gray in 1841.
